


Sing Us a Song, You're the Piano Girl

by EvilMuffins



Category: Dangan Ronpa, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Fluff and Angst, Pre-Canon, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-26 18:52:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9916289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/pseuds/EvilMuffins
Summary: In that moment, however, the two of them both understood that there was a time for worry, and a time to take action.The two were not mutually exclusive.---A collection of Amamatsu prompt fics.





	1. Exchanging Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt was 'exchanging letters'.  
> Set pre-game.

~~_Dear Amami-kun,_ ~~

~~_Dear Amami-san,_ ~~

~~_To: Amami-san,_ ~~

With a sigh, Kaede leaned back in her chair, pen falling to the desk with a clatter.

No matter what she wrote, her clumsy fingers always rendered nothing other than chicken scratches on the page. Absently, she retrieved the pen, scribbling dark little circles around the musical notes adorning the corners of the stationary.

Even if her handwriting were legible, would he even read the letter? He must already receive so much fan mail each week… Was he even as personable in reality as he had appeared on TV? It was so hard to trust anyone these days, after all.

Was she even enough of a fan to send him a letter? She would probably just humiliate herself in writing to someone like him. After all, the past season of Dangan Ronpa was only the first she had ever watched, and even then she hadn’t tuned in until the third episode. She was definitely one of those ‘fakes fans’ she often read about in the 2chan threads.

She had had next to no interest in reality TV, up until she had seen a magazine cover while poking around in the 7-Eleven. A handful of young people posed casually against a dark background, each of them clad in odd outfits, making them appear as if they were all from very separate TV shows. _‘Contortionist! Sommelier! Rollerblader! Adventurer! Meet the newest faces of killing!’,_ the headline proclaimed.

The serene look of confidence, pleasant rather than smug, on the face of the blond boy stirred something in Kaede. She opened up the magazine, curious as to which of the listed talents the boy had been assigned. Although she had never watched the show, she had heard enough about it from classmates to know that the participant’s titles were handed out to them as if they were attending a simple murder mystery game dinner party, with nothing more at stake than some laughs and accolades for the winner.

The show was certainly popular, which of course meant that it likely wasn’t very good, despite the undeniably appealing concept.

‘ _Adventurer’._ Kaede had almost wished that the boy, ‘ _Amami Rantarou’,_ had been the contortionist. That would have been interesting to see, what with his handsome face and all. What did it matter, though? It wasn’t as if she watched the show. She couldn’t bring herself to trust that TV programs wouldn’t be a complete waste of time these days.

As soon as Kaede returned home, she found the first three episodes streaming, and watched them without pause, her homework for the night untouched.

* * *

 

_‘I’m writing to congratulate you on your living through the killing game…’_

Once Kaede was as satisfied with the letter as she would ever be, she licked it shut, grimacing at the bitter taste of the glue, before taking it with her downstairs. Rifling through the junk piled up on top of the unused family piano, she managed to fish out the book of stamps, allowing her to send the envelope on its way.

She had nearly forgotten all about it two weeks later, until her mother announced the rare occurrence of Kaede having received mail.

_‘Dear Akamatsu-san,_

_I don’t always reply to fan mail, but your’s really captured my interest. I’m happy that you could still write to me, even given your issue with trusting others that you told you me about. It’s also not often that I get a letter that isn’t requesting that I appear again on the next season. I’m not allowed to confirm or deny anything about that, so it’s kind of pain to reply in that case, you know?_

_As for advice on your trying out for the new season yourself, my first reaction would be to say ‘don’t’. However, your letter made it sound as if anything I were to say couldn’t stop you._

_You sound like an interesting person, and I’d be happy if we were to meet someday, although hopefully under safer circumstances than a killing game. I’d hate to see you kill anyone, or become a victim yourself. I think that deep down, you seem like a good person._

_Please take care, Akamatsu-san._

_-Amami Rantarou’_

* * *

 

“Hey, Kid, you don’t belong back here.”

“We’re going to wipe his memory again after we pick out the others. What’s the harm in letting him watch?”

As the business suit clad men bickered, Amami stood somlenly before the one-way glass, peering out at the girl seated in the chair.

She was very pretty, what with the way her honey-colored hair framed her face, save for the frightening expression painted across it.

“Akamatsu Kaede,” one of the men spoke into a mic, beginning the interview process.

Amami knew all too well what the producers looked for in a new character; every word Kaede spoke fit the bill exactly.

His heart sank. At least he would be in good company, even if he wouldn’t remember her when the time came.

 


	2. I hope we don't get caught

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prompt was 'A 'I hope we don't get caught' kiss'
> 
> So this is based around the fake spoilers that were going around a day or two before the game came out! Basically, someone was saying that Amami and Kaede teamed up to fake his death, resulting in Amami coming back and screwing over the mastermind.

“Amami-kun? Did you hear that?” Kaede stopped what she was doing to look over her shoulder toward where he stood near the library door. “Can you check again and make sure no one’s coming?”

“No one’s coming,” Amami stated plainly, arms crossed.

Kaede sighed, climbing down from the ladder. “This is for everyone’s own good. We don’t want them to get wrapped up in this plan. They won’t-“

Amami took a step toward her. “They won’t understand? You don't trust them?”

Kaede averted her gaze toward one of the piles of books stacked on the floor. Amami’s eyes followed for a moment, before fixing back onto his accomplice. He had always felt at peace inside of libraries up until then, the stories contained within the books able to distract him from the incident involving his sisters.

“Look,” He placed a firm hand on Kaede’s shoulder. “I’m still going to help you with this plan, but I still think you should keep in mind that sometimes you might not always know what’s best for the entire group, that’s all.”

Kaede looked at him once more, eyes locking with his, able to see now her own determination mirrored within deep green. “I’m going to save everyone- we both are, together. Look, I’m not one of your little sisters. You don’t have to try and take care of me so much.”

“I know that. If I didn’t think you were capable of pulling this off, I would have stopped you.”

“Oh?” Kaede felt her mouth tilt into a smirk despite the dire situation at hand. “And how would you have done that, ground me in my room?”

“Well, if I was a suspicious character- which, of course, I’m not- I could have just killed you, if I thought it would save everyone.”

“Don’t you think that you would have missed me, had you done that?” _Or if the plan backfires,_ Kaede thought to herself, all the while slowly becoming aware of how close together they now stood.

“We won’t know now, will we? Because we’re going to screw over whoever the mastermind behind all of this is.” The expression on his face was far from warm and reassuring, although the intensity of it still gave Kaede faith somehow. He believed in her, even if he didn’t have complete faith in the plan in and of itself. Amami was worried for her. The notion gave Kaede a little thrill of guilt in her stomach.

The plan was that they were to fake Amami’s death, allowing him to work behind the scenes, revealing the mastermind and putting a stop to their plans. Their classmates were smart, and Kaede would likely be called out during the trial, but she trusted Amami, that he would save her-save all of them-before things progressed too far…Wouldn’t he?

“Yeah,” Kaede agreed with a firm nod. “I’m nearly done setting up the decoy trap, so I’ll finish up while you continue to keep a look out.”

Kaede attempted to turn back to her work, however the hand on her shoulder tightened its grip.

“Wait.” Amami took a step forward, backing her up against the bookcase, the wooden shelf pushing at her spine. A book toppled to the ground near by, causing Kaede to start.

“What if someone’s coming? The plan-“ Kaede muttered, the heat in her face quickly becoming the more pressing matter.

In that moment, however, the two of them both understood that there was a time for worry, and a time to take action.

The two were not mutually exclusive.

“Just humor me for a bit,” Amami said, his hand moving to caress Kaede’s cheek. “Just in case we can’t see each other again, you know? _Just in case_ …”

Their lips touched only softly at first, however Kaede was the one to deepen it, clumsily sucking at his bottom lip. Uncertain if it came from the anticipation of their plan potentially succeeding, or the fear of the mastermind discovering them, something filled Kaede with an electric sense of boldness that suddenly hungered for an outlet that Amami was all too happy to provide.

 

 


	3. Warmth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh gosh, I'm so sorry that I dropped the ball on requests for so many months! I have no excuse other than living in a separate pocket of space-time than the rest of the world. This chapter...isn't even a request. I'm dumping my Amamastu Week piece here as well, just so I don't have to come up with a new title. I'm old and tired.
> 
> Prompt was 'Warmth'. I will never forgive Komatsuzaki for robbing us of Amami's brow piercing :|

Generally, Kaede thought of herself as the sort of person who could fall asleep anywhere. Thinking back, as she buried her face into the unfamiliar pillow- the faint scent of plastic surrounding her, as if the bedding had been freshly purchased and unwrapped expressly for her arrival- she could still remember the time her class orchestra had taken an overseas trip to New York two years ago. The other girls in her hotel room had teased her for being the first one to sleep each night, snickering about how their resident _Piano-Baka_ was too trusting.

Tonight, however, no matter how many times Kaede turned over, sleep continued to elude her.

She had noticed it right away while exploring the school with Saihara earlier in the day- Saishuu Academy was not only far too warm on the inside, but _humid_ as well _._ She supposed that’s what it took to keep the odd plant life sprouting all about in good health, however it caused Kaede to feel as if she were about to wither. Although the dorm seemed to be free of stray flora, the conditions within clearly hadn’t been adjusted to match.

To make matters worse, although their closets had been stocked with duplicates of the clothing that they had each arrived wearing, there was a notable lack of any pajamas.

For a brief moment, Kaede considered shucking her sweaty clothing completely in favor of sleeping nude, if it weren't for how the near-by monitor unnerved her. There was something decidedly different about falling asleep surrounded by classmates, than there was being directly in view of murderous teddy bear, even if he couldn’t likely see out though it.

There was nothing else for it, Kaede decided, slipping out from beneath the sheets. Some fresh air was definitely in order.

However, as Kaede approached the courtyard, it quickly became clear that someone else had had the very same idea.

“Good evening, Amami-kun.”

“Oh, hey there, Akamatsu-san,” he greeted with a lopsided smile just barely visible in the dim lighting, “Couldn’t sleep either, huh?” He patted the empty seat beside himself on the bench, Kaede taking him up on the offer.

“Yeah… It’s just so stuffy in the dorm, you know?” she replied, making a fanning motion over herself to emphasize the point, noticing only as she did so that the first four buttons of her blouse had been undone in a fruitless attempt to get more comfortable, tie and vest left behind in her room. Taking a glance at Amami beside her, Kaede decided that it would be less conspicuous to leave it be, rather than button back up again. It wasn’t as if he could unsee her bra anyway. At least he was being a gentleman about it, she thought, taking notice of the way his eyes traveled downward toward her hands instead.

“Oh, really? I like it warm, so I guess I just never noticed. By the way,” in one fluid motion, Amami managed to slide Kaede’s hand into his own as he spoke, “how are your nails holding up?”

“They actually haven’t chipped at all," Kaede replied, holding up her free hand to admire, "even though I got all sweaty before. That top coat you put on worked wonders!”

“That’s good to hear.” Taking his eyes off of her fingers, Amami rested his head backward on the back of the bench, gazing upward at the top of the glass enclosure trapping them in. He looked just as tired as she must have, Kaede thought, wondering at the same time what had brought had brought him out so late. “My sisters hadn’t mentioned that brand before, so I wasn’t sure how good it would be.”

His touch was blessedly cool upon her own hand, and Kaede mourned the loss of it when he took it away to rub at his eyes, careful to avoid the area surrounding his pierced brow.

“Did it hurt when you had that done?” Kaede asked, pointing to her own face.

“Nah, not too much. They numb ya up pretty good an’ all. Why? You worried about me?” He tilted his head toward her.

Kaede laughed. The pain of a piercing gun seemed to pale in comparison when weighed against what could happen to either of them at any moment their current situation. “No, I was just actually thinking that I’d like to finally get my ears pierced once we get out of here. After this, I feel brave enough to do anything, you know?”

“I know a place that does an awesome job." Amami smiled in approval. "I’ll take you there, once we get out  of here, I mean.”

“It’s a date, then!” Kaede said, before adding, “Er, if that’s alright with you? I know you said that you weren’t trying to pick me up before and all-“

Amami shook his head, interrupting her misgivings, “That’d be swell.”

A comfortable silence settled over them, as Kaede reclined as well, staring up at their dome-shaped prison.

A warmth spread over Kaede then, as she laced her fingers with his, and this time, it was far from unwelcome.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://evil-muffins.tumblr.com/  
> https://twitter.com/mikan_komaeda


	4. Music

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From the prompt 'music'. [Please listen to this as you read for the full effect!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu1yR5z0hDI)
> 
> Previous stories in this collection have been re-edited, if anyone wants to check them out again!

He had wanted this killing game? How could that have been possible? The thought ran circles in Amami’s head as he wandered the halls. Everything in the map he had been provided with had been accurate so far, at the very least.

If he had wanted this to happen, then could it somehow be his fault that everyone trapped was trapped here, even in some small part? Even though he wasn't the mastermind, had he still doomed each of these students, just as he had his sisters? The potential responsibility settled heavily over him, slowing his steps, as if he were slogging through a dream. Only adding to the surreal effect was the soft, steady sound of music floating through one of the doors as he approached.

_Akamatsu-san’s lab._

Heaving a sigh, Amami leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes, allowing the music to clear his head, like opening an attic window to let the dust blow out.

The moment was sort lived, however, window slamming shut as the music came to a sudden halt. The door beside him opened wide as Kaede stepped out.

“A-ha!” She grinned. “I thought it was you.”

Amami laughed, more in surprise than amusement. “Guess I better watch what I get up to in my room at night, huh? I mean if your hearing’s that good ‘n all.”

Kaede cocked her head, still with a smile. “I’m not sure that I know what you mean.”

“It was a joke!” He rubbed at the back of his neck, more sheepishly than he felt. For someone who had suspected him of trying to pick her up, there was a definite charm in how clueless she was when it came to dirty jokes. “My sisters don’t get my humor either, but can you blame them?”

“Not really,” Kaede agreed, playful sarcasm evident as she rolled her eyes. “Hey, would you like to come in? I feel kind of funny with you just standing out there by yourself. Music is meant to be shared, you know?”

“Okay, sure,” Amami replied, allowing Kaede to lead the way before settling back down onto her bench, smoothing her still freshly painted fingers over the back of her skirt before sitting.

“Do you like any kind of music in particular, Amami-kun?” she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’ve hung out a few times now, but I still feel like I don’t know much about you...”

Amami eyed the bench, before deciding to remain standing, restless energy turbulent in his limbs. Staying locked up in one place like this for so long wasn’t doing him any favors.

He shrugged. “I never really used to listen to music that often, to be honest. I’m kind of a nature sounds guy, although traffic noise isn’t bad either, when I wind up in the city, I mean. It’s mostly all background to me; I kinda just read a lot when I have time.”

Kaede’s eyes lit up at this. “Music can tell a story too! Listen,” her fingers began to dance in the air before even hitting the keys. “What does this remind you of?”

Her fingers began to waltz like fireworks in the sky, perfectly coordinated in their leaping, a show all in themselves, and Amami thought that even if had been struck deaf, he would still have enjoyed her playing.

The melody was bright, yet with out straying into the saccharine, and although a layer of melancholy lingered underneath the surface, the more optimistic notes remained forefront, filling him with a sense of gentle reassurance.

“I guess I’d say that it makes me feel like we’ll get outta here,” Amami said after a time, meeting her probing gaze as she looked up from the sheet music. “Together.”

“’ _Hope_ ’,” Kaede confirmed, nodding as she patted at the bench for him to sit.

Clearly it had only been built for one person, their thighs touching as he slid in.

Once Amami was seated, Kaede picked up where she had left off in the middle of the piece, always one to hate leaving things unfinished.

Despite the calm of the music, Amami couldn’t stop the thought from snaking into his mind, that out of everyone trapped in the school, Kaede was still the one he worried for most. They were the same, she and him. They would both do everything in their power to put a stop to the game before it could start. All the more reason for him to hurry up and uncover the mastermind. He needed to end this before Kaede could get herself killed.

Despite these thoughts, Kaede’s playing had lulled him, the urgency of his restlessness from before having drained away for a time.

“Sorry about this, Akamatsu-san,” he murmured, knowing that she could still hear over the music, as he leaned into her side, letting his eyes fall shut. “But do you mind if I stay like this for a bit?”

The uninterrupted melody spoke as an answer, for that question and more.

He would get her out of here.

 

 


End file.
